Nageuneneun kileseodo swiji anhneunda

'The man with three coffins' is considered to be an important film in the history of South Korean cinema. It is for the first time that a film shows its maturity by nicely depicting serious themes of alienation, death and isolation. Its director Lee Jang Ho is a veteran of South Korean cinema who received formal training in film making by working with another maverick director Shin Shan OK. The film has also its covert political aspect which was not highlighted to a large extent. However, it would be easy for viewers familiar with DMZ to recognize its presence. The portrayal of sexual encounters has always been a main ingredient of many a South Korean films and this film doesn't attempt to be an exception to that rule. However, it makes a separate identity for itself by allowing its hero to refuse sexual overtures. Lastly, filmed as a meditative road movie which takes its protagonist to different regions of South Korea, 'The man with three coffins' is filmed in red which provides a timeless quality to the film.

A melancholy road movie that reminded me most of the films of the Greek director Theo Angelopoulos, both in their subject matter and in the bleak tedium that the films go through to arrive at their conclusions. This film however lacks the intense aesthetic vision and images that make Angelopoulos' films such as `Suspended Step of the Stork' and `The Beekeeper' so memorable.

An isolated, depressed widower in search of meaning and redemption, and still trying to come to terms with the circumstances of his wife's death three years earlier, is gradually making his way towards her home town, in the desolate countryside near the Korean border, when his path crosses that of a dying company director (whose last wish is to go home to the same village to die) and his nurse. It is a grim tale of suffering and the cruelties of life. I think I missed out on a lot of the meaning of the film due to my limited knowledge of Asian culture and religion, but it still impressed me as a deep and moving film. Unfortunately the print I saw was of a rather bad quality (it seemed to have been originated on home processed 16mm, judging from the grain and colour variations), and I would recommend it only to the patient and those specifically interested in eastern ideas and thinking about moral values and the meaning of life.